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Starting to Sing

Starting to Sing

Phlo Finister: “I was singing in church when I was growing up. My grandfather used to make me get in front of everyone at the church and sing. He used to ask me every Sunday “What song are you singing?” And I’d be mad.

"I was so scared to get in front of those people because I knew they were all judging me because Christian churches are very harsh, especially on singers and vocalists. My grandfather came up in a church called Mt. Zion, which is a church where a lot of great gospel singers came out of. He was a gospel singer as well.

I would cry in front of people as I was singing and then my little cousins would poke fun at me, like, “Why you crying?” and I’m like, “It’s the light. It was shining in my eye.” I didn’t want to seem like an emotional mess, so I found excuses—but I was so scared.

“I would cry in front of people as I was singing and then my little cousins would poke fun at me, like, “Why you crying?” and I’m like, “It’s the light. It was shining in my eye.” I didn’t want to seem like an emotional mess, so I found excuses—but I was so scared.

"Honestly, that made me more aggressive with performing and being able to sing in front of people. Because now, I’m no longer scared. I could sing in front of anyone and my voice may not be perfect, but I’m very confident that I have a voice.

“When I was 18 I decided that I was gonna go in and really make music. I just saw all of the things I was doing for other people and how I could establish that in my brand and just do the styling, do the modeling, do the music, do the makeup, do the directing, do a new film—everything. Do it myself. I figured I’d be a real independent artist.

“I kept hearing this sound in my head but no one could translate it for me. I met this guy, Daniel Luttrell, and we brought it into the studio together and it was a garage band set up. I was so into Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain and a lot of ‘90s grunge music and rock ‘n’ roll.”